The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-06-30
flor THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER
SENSIBLE AND PATRIOTIC
VIEWS. o.
Taxes Do Not Create Wealth.

some men ven l n this 8 OF pHilo-
sophical speculation and practlcal
knowledge-who occupy front ranks
in politics, as we'll as some who hold
positions of public trust in our own
country, who are seriously contendlng
that the government can make It's
citizens rich and prosperous by taxing
them.
They increase the valuation Of our
lands because we clean up a little and
SOW some, grass and clover. II we
buy any l~abor-saving machinery, they
tax us for the privilege Of riding on
them, and they tax our lands higher
because we clear it of 'stumps and
Erocks.a go; ~ ~ -, 90
Il: AL taKation, whether. it be~direct or
indirect, and mo- matter how it maybe
disguised, or in what manner it's pay
ment may be. enforced, is ultimately a
charge upon labor, while it's immediate
and invariable effect is to withdraw
the full amount of the exaction from
the productive industries Of the peo-
pie. When it is: equitably imposed for
public purposes only, and it's proceeds
are honestly used in defraying the
necessary expenses Of the government,
and meeting it's just obligations, all
are equally benefited, and no one has
a right to complain but when a tax
is imposed upon one part of the people,
or one class of industries simply for
the purpose of increasing the profits
of another part Of the people, or an
other class of industries the impolicy
and injustice of the proceeding are
too obvious to reqnire comment.
Many valuable industries which would
have fourished without it, have been
tortured to death by it's unequal bur-
dens and unjust discrimination, while
others have been crushed by the
powerful combinations, and monopolies
which it creates and sustains. Some
have prospered in spite of it, but the
sum of the peoples wealth, the aggre-
gate accumulation Of savings in all
branches of industry is undoubtedly
much less than it ought to have been
and would have been under a more
equal revenue system. A few have
become very rich, but many have be-
come very poor, and the gulf between
luxury and perjury is growing wider
and deeper every day.
This unnatural and dangerous con-
dition of affairs could not possibly
exist in a young and rapidly develop
ing country like ours if the laws and
regulations affecting the creation and
distribution of wealth were just and
equal in their operations. With a
fertile soil and friendly climate, with
free institutions, an intelligent, indus
trious and enterprising population, we
ought to be exempt from the social
and political diseases which afaict the
crowded nations of the old world, and
we will be exempt from them when
we tax all alike and protect all alike.
Living in such a country, and r
rounded by the marvellous achieve
ments of the most wonderful half
century in the annals Of the human
race, if the people continue ~unprosper-:
Gus and disconnected, if wealth con
tinues to accumulate rapidly in the
hands of the idle few, while hunger
and nakedness increase in the homes
Of industry, and if invested capital re-
mains uneasy and insecure, and labor
dissatisfied, it will be a burning dis
grace to the craftsmanship of the age,
and a terrible weight Of responsibility
will rest upon those who reject all
means of relief and cling with stub
born tenacity to the worst features of
the system under which these evils
have originated and attained
THEIR PRESENT PROPORTIONS
This country does not belong to-
either the monopolist or the commun-
lists, and the people will save it from
both.
Between the two there stands a
great and powerful body Of enlight-
ened, conservative, and patriotic farm
ers, who respect equally the rights of
capital and labor, who obey the laws
and preserve the public peace, and
who In spite Of all combinations and
conspiracies, will ultimately see that
the true principles of justice and
equality prevail in the legislation of
the country. Even to prevent the
continuance of long-existing and con-
stantly increasing evils they will not
rush from n extreme to another, but
will proceed carefully, deliberately